Sunkissed
by Yanagi-wa
Summary: Basic fluff. Seto and Joey on a beach. Joey gets a tan. One Shot


Sun Kissed

The young man was all golden. Bright naturally sun streaked Guena gold hair, body tanned to a glow and bright copper penny eyes. He seemed to dance on the hard sand at the edge of the sea.

Anyone who knew would realize that the dance was deadly a very complicated kata. But the man's eyes were full of joy.

Seto Kaiba watched his lover workout leaning easily on the (banister) of their terrace. He had brought Joey to the French Riviera as part of their world tour/vacation.

He smiled as Joey finished his workout and trotted up the stairs. He took them two at a time and paused at the top just long enough to wash the sand off his feet.

Seto grinned at Joey, who pulled the elastic off his messy braid and started to unravel it. He took the brush that Seto handed him and gave him a kiss in return.

"I ought to cut this mess. It's getting way too long." Joey ducked the swat Seto aimed in his general direction and laughed.

"You better never." Seto loved Joey's hair long and flowing down to the bottom of his shoulder blades.

"All right, love. I won't. You know that. But why? It's a bitch to take care of."

Seto, who took responsibility for most of that care replied, "Because it's beautiful. And because, as long as it's so long, I know you're not going back."

Joey gave Seto a sharp look then gathered the taller man into his arms.

"Well then, it'll be down to my ass. I'm never going back. I like this life. I don't hurt. I get to play games for a living and tour the world with you." Joey kissed Seto once more then turned to the table set up nearby. "What's for breakfast? I'm starved."

Seto just settled in the other chair and rang a small bell.

The waiter brought the food and set their plates in front of them.

Seto smiled. "Oh, fraise du bois with whipped cream, on waffles. Nice."

Joey eyed the waffles for a moment. "Strawberries? Kinda small, don't ya think?"

"Yes, they are a bit small. But they're wild. Picked fresh this morning in the Alps. Taste one."

Joey obligingly cut a bite and forked it into his mouth. His expression of ecstasy was all Seto could have wished for. He was always looking for new dishes for Joey to try, anything to please his pallet. Not that Joey was a picky eater, but he'd managed for a very long time on so little that Seto liked to give him the best possible.

He remembered with fondness the time he'd bought Joey a $10,000 plate of caviar. The yakuza bosses had nearly fallen over. Much to both Joey and Seto's amusement

Joey had been thin to the point of emaciation when they'd gotten together and Seto was still doing his best to get him up to proper weight. He was succeeding, much to Joey's delight

"This is great! What did you call them?"

"Fraise du bois. Fancy French for wild strawberries. Coffee?" Seto offered the pot to Joey.

"Yeah. Just a small cup." Joey held out his cup. He was cutting way back on coffee. He'd lived on coffee and nerves for too long. His doctor had advised him to cut way back and Seto didn't like him to drink too much. Besides he felt better when his nerves weren't jangling from too much caffeine. So now, instead of his old giant cup, he had a small cup and sipped it, instead of bolting the whole thing in two boiling gulps.

Seto smiled his approval before asking, "Want to go swimming later? You could wear that red Speedo." He couldn't help his laugh at Joey's disgusted expression.

Seto's little brother, Mokuba, had given them both the smallest Speedo swim suits in existence as a gift at their 'going way' party.

He'd laughed his ass off at their twin expressions of disgust.

Joey favored a plain style of suit, with a draw string and loose, mid-thigh legs. Seto like what Americans referred to as 'baggies', long legged and fairly loose all over. Neither one would actually wear the Speedos but there was much teasing over them.

"I'm wearing the brown. You wear the Speedo. It's more your style."

Seto threw a bit of toast crust at Joey, who caught it in his mouth and ate it.

"My style, my ass."

Joey snickered. "I like your ass."

"I don't know what Mo' was thinking. He knows I'm not about to wear something like that. Nor would I let you either." Joey snorted at the notion of Seto 'letting' him wear anything. "Well, I'd do my best to talk you out of it."

Joey laughed again. "And I'd let you. I don't think he really expected us to actually wear them. You know him, anything to give us a poke."

Seto tried to scowl but failed. "I'll poke him! And I better be getting his grades soon, or else."

Joey just finished the last of his waffle and, settling back in his chair, sipped his coffee, enjoying the sun on his face. He felt better than he'd felt for years. Four years undercover took its toll. By the time he'd finished his mission his health had suffered terribly. He was too thin by 40 lbs, jumped at every loud noise and had screaming nightmares.

Now, however, he had put on 30 of the 40 lbs, only flinched at things that sounded like gunfire and had no more than one nightmare a week.

Seto finished his coffee and waited for Joey to do the same. When he set the cup down Joey smiled at Seto and remarked, "Amazing how good it tastes when I don't need a heavy jolt of caffeine just to keep going." He stretched carefully, enjoying the easy play of healthy muscle. "Let's go walk on the beach. We can go to the peer down the way and back, change into our suits and have our swim. Ok?"

Seto just headed for their rooms to find the suits.

They changed into them and found geta to wear. Seto liked the traditional Japanese sandals and had theirs specially made. Joey enjoyed the sound they made on the cobblestone streets. They were also fun on the board walk.

"We better stick to hard surfaces unless you want to wear modern geta. The traditional ones will sink in the sand."

Seto shrugged, "We'll go up to the board walk then. Come on."

They clattered happily up the steps to the board walk on the edge of the cliffs above the beach. Walking on the board walk produced an unmistakable sound, geta modern or traditional make a distinctive noise. Joey clonked rather loudly while Seto clacked along much more quietly.

"You want to get some ice cream?"

Seto considered then decided against. "No. I don't think you should stay in the sun that long. You're turning decidedly pink."

"Damn. I'll have to stay out of the sun more. I'm getting too tan."

Seto let his eyes rove over his lover. "I don't believe so. You look wonderful, sun kissed like that. But you're too blond to stay in the sun much more than an hour or so at a time. You'll be burned if you're not careful."

Joey grumbled a bit but shrugged. "Ok. I'll get some sun screen. Put it on my back for me?"

"You know I will."

Joey blushed with pleasure at Seto's appreciative stare. "Yeah, but it's polite to ask."

So Seto dutifully rubbed sun screen on Joey's back and made sure that he anointed the back of his neck and knees. On the walk back he made sure they stayed in the shade as much as possible.

Evening rolled around and found Seto on the couch with a newspaper. Joey was curled up on the floor watching television. He'd put on a shirt over his trunks but left it open. Seto admired his tanned chest for a second then put down his paper.

"Joey? What? I don't remember that."

Seto fingered a small white mark under Joey's pectoral muscle.

Joey glanced down. "Oh, that. Tris accidentally stabbed me with a pencil. Told you I'm getting too much sun."

"I think I'll have a little talk with Tristan."

Joey yawned and stretched. "Don't bother. I smacked him around good."

Seto winced. Joey had a hard hand at the best of times, his street upbringing and later training made him rather impatient of mistakes, especially when anyone got hurt.

"When did it happen?"

"Just before ninth grade. We were runnin' with Hirutani at the time."

Joey shuffled around, flat on his back, trying to button up the shirt. Seto knelt on the floor next to him and caught his hands. "Let me see. I'll just hound you until you do, you know."

Joey just lay back and allowed Seto to do what he wanted. He knew from experience, once Seto decided on an action nothing would back him down. Not even Mokuba's 'pout of death'.

So Seto pulled Joey's shirt aside and examined him, not that he hadn't done so before, but with the tan things that Joey would rather Seto not see were more obvious than usual.

"What's this one?" Seto stroked a thin white line low down on Joey's back.

"Got shanked in the showers just before I got out. Remember"

"Yeah, don't remember the scar though. That tan really shows a lot. But it does look good on you."

Joey rolled over when Seto poked him.

"And that." Seto touched a small round scar on Joey's lower abdomen, taking advantage of the chance to admire the hard musculature.

"Pop burned me with a cigaret when I was about seven." Seto made a horrified sound. "I don't think he meant to. He was just drunk."

Seto finished his inventory of scars with a disheartened sigh. There was the shank scar on Joey's lower back, the pencil stick, the cigaret burn, two bullet wounds, one on the left thigh and another in his back. He also had several other scars, road rash scars from motorcycle wrecks. "Joey, I know you don't like it when I say this, but; thank you for what you did. I'll get the herbalist to make up a cream. These don't show when you're not tanned, but they need to be seen to. You're too beautiful to be scared like this."

Seto set himself to kissing every scar, and Joey let him with a sigh of happiness. He was a bit embarrassed by Seto calling him beautiful but not enough to object, besides, he was glad Seto liked the way he looked.

He hummed softly responding to Seto's caresses. "Seto? Keep that up and we'll be in bed early."

Seto smirked from his position with his head on Joey's stomach. "Ok. Then in the morning I'm making arrangements to go to Paris. You'd like that?"

"Nearly as much as what you're doing now."


End file.
